Why do Christian collges cost so much?

I would highly recommend taking out the extra loans to get the accredited degree.

 

I would recommend that if it is too expensive, you take a year off, work your tail off and then go.

Christian schools cost so much because they don't have help from your tax dollars like public, state run schools do. I would guess that Christian schools are no more expensive than a secular private school. One choice is to find a school that might have denominational support. For example, if you are SBC, go to Boyce, or Union (although I'm not sure Union gets co-op $$).

Your life will be much more blessed if you don't get out of Christian college with $40,000 - $60,000 worth of loans that you will have to pay off.

 

Unfortunately, sometimes this bites you in the backside. If you have a bunch of money saved up, then your financial aid package might go significantly down.

Also, I'm not sure that a high school graduate could really put that much of a dent into the price of a college degree without only one year of work.

 

There are other colleges out there which are less expensive than Liberty but which are also accredited.

My college (the only one of which I have good knowledge!) [Williams Baptist College, in Arkansas,(SBC affiliated), www.wbcoll.edu] has a sticker price of about 15,000 a year for tuition, room, and board.

Another option you may want to try is to work but also take classes at a community college (it will be MUCH cheaper than anything else, and you can transfer the credits to a 4 year Christian school to finish the degree).

 

Amen!

If you want to go into a field where you aren't going to be making much, then try to keep your costs down. When I graduated I had somewhere around $40,000 in loans. 7 years later my wife and I are on track to have them paid off by June. 60% of which probably will be within the last 6 months. (we were saving for a house and decided to pay off debt instead).It takes a lot of discipline to get them paid off soon, instead of blowing the money on stupid stuff. Student loan payments are a real burden, especially when you are trying to get a mortgage or a car loan. I can't wait to call Dave Ramsey and yell "We're debt free!!!"

 

A HS graduate can work 40+ hours at McDonalds or Pizza Hut and bring home $1000 a month. If he can stay with his parents during that time, he can save up $12,000 (actually a little more, because he would have 2 summers).

As for it biting you in the backside, I'd take that risk. I'd rather know that I have 12 grand in cash than hope for a financial aid package(what if it came up $2000 short?) Plus, there are still plenty of scholarships out there without financial need as a req.

The community college idea is actually a really good one. Because you could probably still stay at home (read: low expenses) work a job and go to class.

ETA: Find out if the town you're going to has a UPS sorting facility. UPS will let you work part time (usually 2nd or 3rd shift) and help pay for part of your school. UPS does wonders for the people here at SBTS.

If not, there are other companies that will help with tuition assistance.

[ March 30, 2006, 02:58 PM: Message edited by: NateT ]

 

It can work, as long as the person has an extremely high level of discipline. I would think that having minimal expenses (by living at home) could allow for significant savings but also significant disposable income. The temptation to spend would be very high, so one would have to be very disciplined.
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I recommend doing anything but going to an unaccredited institution. It looks cheaper in the short run, but what is better...making an investment that has a fairly reasonable expectation of a payoff or one that has a substantially lower expectation of a payoff, even if it is initially cheaper?

I strongly recommend this course of action if the prospect of loans deters you from an accredited school:

Usually you can go to a community college for 2k-3k per year. If you go for two years and get an AA to transfer to a 4 year school, even if you take out loans and have no aid and pay nothing, you're only going to be about 5k in debt. You could stay at home and minimize your expenses while working part-time, possibly enough to pay most, if not all, of your first two years of tuition.

That means you could go to an accredited four year school without having to take out four years of big loans. Also, if you need to take some time off to raise money after your AA, you could make more money with an AA than with just a diploma.

 

I would also recommend an accredited school. I like BJU and until it does get accreditation, I would even be leary of them simply because of limitations. Does not mean that you will not get a good or excellent education at an unaccredited school but the problem is that it will limit your opportunities (esp at undergrad level). Yes their are cost issues. My own opinion is that the U of Pheonix is way over price at 1000 to 1500 per class when people react with horrifed looks when someone says they went there (but they are accredited and where an accredited degree is required that is important).

Now a suggestion for you if money is an issue and you want a theological degree. Try South African Theological Seminary http://www.sats.edu.za They are very inexpensive (less than 100 $ per class as I recall) and they are evangelical and the foreign equivalent of accredited. South Africa has a well respected British style education system. You will end up with an accredited degree (not quite as versatile as a US one perhaps) and will be able to go on and do graduate study (probably in the US and defintely through South Africa). Bill Grover went through UNIZUL in South Africa for his docotrate and it cost less than 2000, took 3 years and he now teaches here in the US. I would go with SATS ahead of a US unaccredited school. ALso, they have to be one if the most customer service oriented schools I have ever dealt with.

Nord

 

Let me wave the flag for Mid-Continent University in Mayfield, far western Kentucky. It's an accredited 4-year liberal arts college, thorougly Southern Baptist, conservative. And its tuition rates are quite competitive. Check out the website

http://www.midcontinent.edu

For a better feel about MCU, see "Mid-Continent Baptist Bible College" elsewhere in this discussion category.

Full disclosure: I'm on the MCU board of trustees, so I'm biased.

Tom Butler

 

If one knew how little professors made at Christian schools they would be ashamed to be associated with many.

 

www.okbu.edu
Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, OK
U.S. News & World Report ranking #1 college in OK, #2 private college in western U.S.

Southern Baptist, competitive tuition rates.

Karen

 

I am on staff at an SBC Seminary/College (I'm not a professor). My wife recently lost her job due to a "work force reduction." She makes significantly more on unemployment while looking for a new job than I earn working full-time.

Oh yeah, I forgot...

It's not just a job it's a ministry. However, that does not help pay the rent.

[ March 31, 2006, 08:32 AM: Message edited by: Bible-boy ]

 

Squire Robertsson has nailed the source of the problem. In the Baptist university whose board I chair, 96% of the revenue is tuition. Endowments and giving are a pitifully small slice. Typically, about half of a school's revenue is tuition; the other parts are endowments and annual giving campaigns. When you rely on almost all tuition-driven revenue, you are never far from danger.

And here's an irony: Mid-Continent University's tuition is the second lowest of any private college in Kentucky. One consultant suggested that it's too low. He said people equate cost with quality. Low cost, low quality. He thinks we ought to raise prices.

In the meantime, we're still looking for that millionaire with some spare change.

 

Aw, Squire, I thought you were being slightly sarcastic. Either way, I understood what you meant.

Tom B.